Colours (Donovan song)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". "Colours" is a song written and recorded by British singer-songwriter Donovan for his second album, Fairytale.[1] "Colours" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 28 May 1965 through Pye Records (Pye 7N 15866) and a few months later in the United States through Hickory Records (Hickory 45-1324). The single was backed with "To Sing for You" on the UK release and "Josie" on the US release. Both B-side selections came from Donovan's first album, What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid (1965).
Release and reception
Donovan followed up the success of "Catch the Wind" with "Colours", which featured a similar folk style. The single matched the success of "Catch the Wind" in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 4 on the charts.[2] In the United States, "Colours" reached No.61,[3] and marked a decline in the artist's popularity relative to "Catch the Wind". A different mix of the song (without harmonica) was released on his second album Fairytale. Billboard praised the "intriguing lyric and melody."[4] Cash Box described it as a "tender, slow-moving, rhythmic pledge of romantic devotion sold by the songster in his distinctive Bob Dylan-ish style."[5]
For the 1969 Epic Records release Donovan's Greatest Hits, Donovan re-recorded "Catch the Wind" and "Colours" in the studio with Big Jim Sullivan playing guitar, John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards and Clem Cattini on drums, produced by Mickie Most.
The song proved to be quite accessible for more mainstream artists, with covers by Claudine Longet, Percy Faith, Van Dyke Parks, actress Patty Duke, Murray Head, and The Kingston Trio.
Other versions by Donovan
- A live duet with Joan Baez from the 1965 Newport Folk Festival[1] is included on the 1995 compilation Folk Music at Newport, Part 1.
- The 2002 album Pied Piper features a re-recorded version by Donovan with new lyrics for children.
- The 2002 film The Rules of Attraction features a re-recorded version by Donovan which would after be used in various television commercials.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Van Dyke Parks Template:No-Man